Is anyone else incredibly excited for the NA LCS 2018? Thanks to the franchising changes, the new rosters are incredibly exciting. This week we look at one of the new teams: 100 Thieves. They have a brand new roster, with a mix of experience and newer players.

Who are 100 Thieves?

The company is owned by Nadeshot, who is an ex-Call of Duty professional player. The reason you may not have heard of 100 Thieves until now? They received a multi-billion dollar investment from Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This announcement came as a shock to many, but it follows a trend of NBA teams buying a slot in the NA LCS.

The new 100 Thieves Roster

As this is a new team, we’ll just take each position one at a time. Up first is the top lane, and they’ve brought in the absolute powerhouse which is Ssumday. For those of you familiar with Ssumday, you will know that he performed incredibly strongly at Dignitas. He has had a strong career in Korea, and will likely perform very well on this new 100 Thieves roster. Dignitas were not accepted into the new NA LCS Franchising rules.

An experienced jungler

If you’re putting together a brand new roster, you need some experienced players in the roster. There aren’t many junglers more experienced that Meteos. Some people would argue that he is past his prime, but 100 Thieves seem to think differently. It will be interesting to see whether Meteos can perform at the highest level still, he definitely played reasonably well on P1.

Jungler and mid-lane duo from P1

Also joining 100 Thieves from P1 is Ryu. Ryu is known for being an absolute monster. If he is performing, he is performing incredibly well. P1 definitely had some roster problems, and Ryu took a break at the end of last season, as he hadn’t seen his family in a year. This kind of thing can have a big impact on how you’re playing. If 100 Thieves treats their players correctly, they could have the perfect recipe for success.

Meteos hugging Ryu

An almost rookie

Cody Sun burst onto the scene last season, playing for Immortals. He played consistently well and helped take Immortals to Worlds 2017. Although he underperformed at this event, he would have been happy with his first season as a professional player. He had Olleh as his support, however, who is considered one of the best supports in NA. His new bot-lane partner is as good as his old one, though.

A rock in the bot

Alongside Cody Sun is Aphromoo, who rounds out the 100 Thieves roster. Aphromoo is one of the most experienced supports in NA, and is known for his shot-calling and massive change-changing plays. He seems exactly what 100 Thieves needed, to bring together their team. Without an experienced player in the team, whose mother-tongue is English, communication would have certainly been a problem for this team. This is definitely the logic behind bringing in Aphromoo, who has experience playing at Worlds.

Flop or Top?

100 Thieves has been awarded a multi-billion dollar investment from Dan Gilbert. This automatically raises our expectations when it comes to the new roster. They’ve done well. They’ve picked up a solid top laner, mid laner, ADC, support, and jungler. All of their players have past experience in the NA LCS. This is definitely a positive for the team.

However, as we’ve seen before, simply putting together a powerhouse roster isn’t enough. Often, things such as communication issues, individual egos and underperforming players can cause problems for rosters. If you look at Team Liquid’s roster last year, they definitely should have done much better than fighting to stay in the NA LCS. They had former world champion Piglet, star jungler Dardoch and even Reignover. When you pack this many star players together, it can either be a recipe for disaster or success. You must take all of this into account when you look at 100 Thieves.

There are many problems which they could face in the NA LCS 2018 season. When you put together a new roster, it can be very touch and go. You can see that immediately in the team’s decision making and communication. One of the things you must watch out for with this new roster is, for example, their first tower dive. If it is a success, then you know that something is going right. However, they have two Koreans on their team, which can make communication difficult. The Korean players are likely to be some of the best players on the team, but if they cannot make calls (or follow their captain’s), then the team will suffer. The only other thing which may lead 100 Thieves to flop, is the fact that the pressure from being cast in a “star roster” may get to some of the players. If the players succumb to the pressure, then they will not perform up to scratch.

100 Thieves recipe for success

100 Thieves will probably be in the top 3. It will be difficult to beat TSM to the Spring and Summer split winners, but they will definitely be challenging them. Should TSM flop, it is likely that 100 Thieves will secure the top place. They have one of the most solid rosters that the new franchising changes have brought about. It won’t be a walk in the park, and it will take a good deal of coaching and also a great deal of taking care of the player’s well-being. They have definitely hit the sweet spot when it comes to mixing foreign talent and home-grown talent. 100 Thieves also have a great mix of experienced talent and young guns. All the players on this team are hungry for success, Ryu gave an interview about his team’s constant third-place matches, and how he was desperate to play in a final. If the 100 Thieves’ coaching staff can harness this hunger, they will definitely be one of the top teams in the NA LCS 2018. Their line-up is top notch and they won’t be happy with anything less than the finals.